Well I had really hoped to send out a blog on New Year’s day. You know the kind: full to the brim with good intentions, motivational, packed with resolutions, and maybe with a snappy pep talk included for the year ahead.

It never happened.

Why?

Well, New Year’s day turned out to be a little hectic, things were not quite running to my (uptight) schedule. One of my kids got sick towards the tail end of the day, the other one decided to swap his day with his night , and frankly, I was too tired to think about what I wanted to achieve for next year.

But time moves forward regardless, and here I am fully and happily embracing 2013.
The first lesson that I have learned is ‘Shit happens’. Yes, I know that seems cliched, but it is important to accept that sometimes things won’t run according to our plans. Kids get sick, printers break down, and snow days occur, these are things we cannot change, and there is no point in beating ourselves up about it. Which is why, instead of making a list of hard, unforgiving resolutions this year, I am embracing a new mantra :

Let it go

 

Sounds good doesn’t it?

Let’s be clear here, when I say ‘let it go’ I don’t mean forget about your deadlines, sit on the sofa eating bonbons, and refuse to accept responsibility for anything that happens (although that can sometimes have a certain allure to it).
I mean don’t waste time worrying about things that can’t be changed. Work around obstacles and find new ways to get things done.

One of my favorite designers, Milton Glaser said that ” We should always operate by interruption”. I like that quote, because we never work in a vacuum; interruption can benefit your work in surprising ways and shake it up a little bit. Operating by interruption, and getting things done, requires a certain type of spontaneous creativity.

On the other hand, most work requires some form of planning and I am looking forward to indulging in my favorite sort of planning – list making. Watch this space for new projects coming up in 2013.

Hope your year turns out to be wonderful!